W1.8 (Research Writing) is the standard I am focusing on in this lesson. This is the ninth lessons in this unit, and the students write their own closing sentence. Creating a closing sentence for a paragraph that is based on research provided is quite a complex task for first graders. The closing sentence connects to all the sentences in the paragraph. I often ask the students to reread the paragraph and try to say it all in one sentence. It is often a broad statement, and it ends up being similar to the topic sentence.

This brings me to another point. I feel that this is a very rigorous lesson, unit, and standard. When rigor is paired with relevance the students' abilities seem to increase, which makes the lesson activities much easier. My principal and mentor always says, "Relevance makes rigor possible." What I am saying is that when students are interested in a topic they can often read way about their lexile or complete very challenging tasks.

Lesson Overview

As a class we create a few closing sentences for a variety of paragraphs. Then I allow the students to work with a partner to create their own closing sentence, but I am wondering around helping them arrive at the best closing. The students work with a Peanut Butter Jelly Partner and do Transitions frequently to increase the engagement in the lesson.

Introductory Activity

At this point in the lesson I want to excite, motivate, and assess my students. So, I project the lesson image of my students working on this unit on the smart board. It just excites them. Then I ask them to discuss what a closing sentence is supposed to do. While they talk I assess their prior knowledge.

Next, I share the lesson plan so my students know what to expect. Last, we chant the lesson goal, "I can create a closing sentence."

Big Idea:
To finish off their garden experience, the students will create a informational poster about planting a garden. The poster will combine the steps in the planting process while highlighting how plants meet their needs.

Big Idea:
In this lesson, students will learn the purpose for a circle map and be able to use one. By learning how to use a circle map, students will then be able to use them in future reading and writing lessons.